Epic Games Publishing [2020-03]

[BRiT]

Epic Games Publishing Announces Partnerships with gen DESIGN, Playdead, and Remedy Entertainment

The Epic Games approach to publishing fundamentally changes the developer/publisher model, and aims to have the most developer-friendly terms in the industry, so that creators can focus on making great games.

• Full creative freedom and ownership. Developers retain 100% of all intellectual property and full creative control of their work.
• Fully-funded projects. Epic Games Publishing will cover up to 100% of development costs, from developer salaries to go-to-market expenses such as QA, localization, marketing, and all publishing costs.
• 50/50 profit sharing. Developers earn a fair share for their work -- once costs are recouped, developers earn at least 50% of all profits.

“We’re building the publishing model we always wanted for ourselves when we worked with publishers,” said Tim Sweeney, Founder and CEO of Epic Games.

"gen DESIGN, Remedy, and Playdead are among the most innovative and talented studios in the industry, with strong visions for their next games,” said Hector Sanchez, Head of Epic Games Publishing. “They will have full creative control, while Epic will provide a solid foundation of project funding and services.”

Additional information, development partners, and games will be announced in the coming months.

https://www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/news/epic-games-publishing-announcement

 

[Malo]

Sounds like a gamble for Epic but on the surface seems like a decent model? I think the actual amounts they would be promising would be heavily dependent on the potential earnings for the game. They're providing most upfront costs with all profits going to Epic until all those costs are recouped and then it's 50/50. Though that's a bit of contrast to their touting of high splits for EGS

I wonder if UE is a requirement for the game engine?

 

[JPT]

I guess they have to use all that Fortnite money on something